Pandas go for the black and white stuff

SCHOOLCHILDREN are being taught more about Edinburgh Zoo’s pandas thanks to new milk cartons.

Robert Wiseman Dairies has formed a unique partnership with the Royal Zoological Society Scotland (RZSS) to mark the residence at Edinburgh Zoo of two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang.

Wiseman has introduced a specially designed range of fresh milk cartons for school-children with fun panda facts, and a link to educational resources based on the Curriculum for Excellence.

Grace Mulligan feeds the new panda carton milk to panda Tian Tian

The cartons, designed in conjunction with the RZSS, will reach 1.7 million children every week in nurseries and primary schools nationally, including 700,000 children in Scottish local education authorities.

Sharon Simpson, Head of Marketing at RZSS, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage young people to learn more about our giant pandas in a fun way. An iconic animal that is symbolic of global species conservation, we are delighted to have worked with Wiseman to speak directly with young people in their classrooms.

“As well as on-pack information and images of our giant panda characters, a dedicated microsite contains worksheets and teachers’ lesson plans, which we hope will prove a valuable educational resource. The partnership also enables us to communicate wider conservational messages, a key aspect of our Society’s foundational goals.”

Sales and Marketing Director for Wiseman, Sandy Wilkie says: “Whilst our black and white branding wasn’t really designed with these particular animals in mind, it’s a great link for us to have and we are delighted if we can play a role in helping children to better understand what makes pandas so special.”

Newburgh Primary School in Fife was amongst the first to receive the new cartons and they have been warmly received. Frances Gibb, Class Teacher said: “Wiseman’s Panda Project and educational resources have been a fantastic bonus and are being used from Primary 1 to Primary 7. There has been great excitement awaiting the Panda cartons and now that they have arrived we are enjoying looking out for all the Panda information on them.”